Five Mavericks Just Won College Tuition at Heroes of the Dorm®

UT Arlington went all in to sweep LSU and claim the Heroes of the Dorm National Championship. (Photo: Business Wire) Multimedia Gallery URL

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

College esports was the winner as the University of Texas at Arlington went all in to take the Heroes of the Dorm® National Championship in Las Vegas, sweeping Louisiana State University to claim the top prize of full tuition for each of its five players for the remainder of their college careers. UT Arlington’s squad triumphed by going 29-0 in the most competitive Heroes of the Dorm yet, as this year’s tournament featured additional stages of intense competition leading up to the climactic Heroic Four.

Regardless of talent selections or Battleground choices, UT Arlington stayed aggressive, punishing opponents for every mistake with multiple takedowns. The undefeated run did a lot to erase the sting of last year's bitter loss to Arizona State University in the National Championship, and UT Arlington's focus was the dominant theme in the 2017 Heroic Four.

"All of us want to continue going forward as a team and see what we can do off the momentum of this win," said team captain Yusuf 'Kure' Sunka. "Last year a couple members of ASU, they went on to succeed in HGC off of the momentum of their win. So we're looking to do the same thing: keep maturing as a team and this is only a first step for us."

“Congratulations to the 2017 Heroes of the Dorm, UT Arlington, for an awesome run through this year’s tournament,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “The teams competing represent the future of competitive gaming, and it’s been a thrill seeing them in action. We appreciate all the students and college sports fans who participated in this year’s competition, and we’re looking forward to even more Heroes of the Storm® esports leading up to BlizzCon this November.”

Collegiate esports fans contributed to the excitement around Heroes of the Dorm by submitting thousands of entries for the 2017 Bracket Challenge and the all-new Pick ‘Em Challenge. The top entry in the Bracket Challenge is set to receive $10,000. The Pick ‘Em Challenge let participants choose one of the Heroic Four teams and rewarded them with as many as seven Heroes of the Storm Stimpacks—which provide an experience and gold boost when playing the game—based on how well their team performed.

This year’s tournament was streamed exclusively via Facebook Live on the Heroes of the Storm Esports Facebook page—where fans can also go back to relive all of the action of the tournament, including the dramatic Heroic Four.

The University of Texas at Arlington has claimed the Heroes of the Dorm National Championship, but collegiate esports continues in 2017 with several events in the Tespa Collegiate Series, including the Hearthstone® National Championship and the Overwatch® Training Grounds, still to come. Visit the official website at tespa.org for more information.

About Heroes of the Storm®

Heroes of the Storm brings together a diverse cast of iconic characters from Blizzard’s far-flung realms of science fiction and fantasy, including the Warcraft®,StarCraft®,Overwatch®, and Diablo® universes. Across the Battlegrounds of the Nexus, teams of five players come together to compete in epic, adrenaline-charged battles where only coordination, teamwork, and strategy can win the day. To learn more about Heroes of the Storm, head over to the official website at www.heroesofthestorm.com.

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft®, Hearthstone®, Overwatch®, the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, and the multi-franchise Heroes of the Storm®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes twenty-one #1 games* and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

*Based on internal company records and reports from key distribution partners.

About Tespa

Tespa is the premier college gaming network in North America, dedicated to creating a home for gamers on every campus. Recognized as the leader in college esports, Tespa cultivates student communities that host epic gaming events on campuses in the United States and Canada, and plans to distribute more than $800,000 in scholarship prizing in 2017 through intercollegiate leagues. Tespa has had more than 5000 teams from more than 1200 universities compete in its college tournaments and has empowered student leaders to become entrepreneurs in the gaming industry.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the dates of the Hearthstone® National Championship and the Overwatch® Training Grounds, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.